Railroad track switches typically involve a pair of stationary rails and a pair of switching rails that move between engaged and disengaged positions. In the engaged position, commonly referred to as the “reverse position,” a switching rail abuts the gauge side of a stationary rail, i.e., the side which engages the flange of a train wheel, so as to divert the train wheel from the stationary rail and the corresponding track to another track. In the disengaged position, commonly known as the “normal position,” the switching rail is separated from the gauge side of the stationary rail so that a passing wheel is unaffected by the switching rail.
In order to ensure proper functioning of a railroad switch, it is important that the switching rail and stationary rail make good contact in the engaged position. Accordingly, in cold climates, it is common to heat the tracks forming the rail switch to guard against build up of ice or snow at the switch.
A number of different types of track switch heaters have been devised including heaters that operate on radiant (e.g., infrared element), convective (e.g., forced air); and/or conductive (e.g., electrical heater element) principles. Among these, certain heaters have relative advantages for particular applications based on efficiency, availability of an appropriate power source at a remote location or other considerations.
Components such as heaters are often anchored directly to the track rail utilizing bolts and/or welds. In this regard, a hole may be drilled into the track rail for mounting purposes, or, a portion of the component may be welded directly to the track rail. Such interconnection techniques are generally labor intensive and require careful positioning to prevent structurally weakening the track rail. Such connection techniques can result in a stress concentration within the track rail. Further, the heat of exothermic connectors (welding) can result in a brittleness in the track rail. As will be appreciated, track rails are subjected to repeated heavy loading (e.g., railroad traffic) and areas including such stress concentrations and/or brittleness may be subject to failure.